Thursday, August 15, 2013

What We're Reading: Letters from Skye

Dear Readers,

Many of you reading this may not remember a time when people corresponded by letters through the mail. A time when hearts were won or lost by handwritten words on a piece of paper, when one waited anxiously for the postman to deliver that much-anticipated letter, and when news could be oh so slow in coming. The beauty of the written word could inspire love, bind families together, or tear them apart. Sharing words, whether in favorite books or by letter, could heal body, mind, and soul, especially in desperate times.

I submit to you an epistolary tale of hope and love in the face of adversity. Letters from Skye, Jessica Brockmole's atmospheric debut novel, is a sweeping love story spanning two continents and two world wars. The story opens in 1912 when a cocky young American student writes a fan letter to a Scottish poet, Elspeth Dunn. Living an isolated life on the island of Sky, Elspeth is stunned to find that her book of poetry has made it to America.So begins a lively correspondence between her and David Graham. As the letters become more personal, Elspeth and David's friendship is slowly transforming into love.

Then the focus shifts to 1940; another war and another young woman, Elspeth's daughter, Margaret, who has fallen in love with an RAF pilot. When a German bomb strikes close to Elspeth's Edinburgh flat, the explosion shakes loose a pile of letters hidden in the wall. Margaret reads one and discovers clues to her mother's unspoken past. When Elspeth disappears, Margaret's search for her takes her back to a family she barely knows and secrets long hidden away.

Told through letters, the story follows the lives and loves of two women who find strength and love in wartime. I know many of you have read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and enjoyed it as much as I. You will find Letters From Sky equally enjoyable.